Cosmo DiNardo, Sean Kratz charged with killing missing men in Bucks County

Left: Sean Kratz; right: Cosmo DiNardo.
Authorities investigated a property in the 400 block of Susquehanna Road in Upper Dublin on Friday, July 14, 2017. The home was linked to a second suspect in the slaying of several Bucks County men.
Authorities investigated a property in the 400 block of Susquehanna Road in Upper Dublin on Friday, July 14, 2017. The home was linked to a second suspect in the slaying of several Bucks County men.
Michael Goldberg — Digital First Media
Michael Goldberg — Digital First Media

Authorities investigated a property in the 400 block of Susquehanna Road in Upper Dublin on Friday, July 14, 2017. The home was linked to a second suspect in the slaying of several Bucks County men.
A law enforcement official escorts Cosmo DiNardo to a vehicle Thursday, July 13, 2017, in Doylestown, Pa. Lawyer Paul Lang, a defense attorney for DiNardo, said Thursday that his client has admitted killing the four men who went missing last week and told authorities the location of the bodies. Lang says prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in return for DiNardo’s cooperation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A law enforcement official escorts Cosmo DiNardo to a vehicle Thursday, July 13, 2017, in Doylestown, Pa. Lawyer Paul Lang, a defense attorney for DiNardo, said Thursday that his client has admitted killing the four men who went missing last week and told authorities the location of the bodies. Lang says prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in return for DiNardo’s cooperation.
Michael Goldberg — Digital First Media
Matt Rourke―The Associated Press

DOYLESTOWN >> A reputed drug dealer and his cousin are accused of committing one of the most heinous crimes in Bucks County history.

Cosmo DiNardo and Sean Kratz were charged Friday in connection with the deaths of four men who were killed on a farm in Solebury Township.

DiNardo, 20, of the 900 block of Wayland Circle in Bensalem, confessed to all four of the killings on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kratz, 20, of the 800 block of Magee Avenue in northeast Philadelphia, was implicated in three of the killings on Friday.

Jimi Taro Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township, was the first to go missing on July 5. That was followed by the disappearances last Friday of 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, of Pennsburg in Montgomery County; Dean Finocchiaro, 18, of Middletown Township; and 21-year-old Tom Meo, of Plumstead Township.

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At a press conference Friday afternoon, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said the remains of all of the missing men had been found on a 90-acre farm owned by DiNardo’s parents on the 6000 block of Lower York Road.

All the men were shot and killed during drug transactions with DiNardo on his family’s property in Solebury, the DA said.

“We did find three of those young men buried deep within the ground under an old oil tank that was converted into a cooker about 12.5-feet down,” the district attorney said of the bodies of Sturgis, Meo and Finocchiaro.

The district attorney said there was an attempt burn, deface and obliterate three bodies, but it wasn’t successful.

For Patrick’s remains, however, Weintraub needed to make a deal with DiNardo — whom he described as the mastermind behind the killings.

“We’d still be looking for Jimi Patrick had we not made this agreement,” Weintraub explained. “It was so far away that I started getting sick to my stomach on the ride. We found him where we were told we were going to find him, and I don’t know if we would have ever.”

The county’s top prosecutor indicated that Patrick’s body was up to a half a mile away from the other men’s bodies and described it as “being up on top of the mountain.”

As part of the agreement, Weintraub took the death penalty off the table.

DiNardo’s confessions also enabled prosecutors to charge his cousin in the deaths of Sturgis, Meo and Finocchiaro and secure the two guns used in the slayings, so they can “never be used to hurt or kill anyone ever again,” Weintraub said.

What reportedly drove the men to kill remains a mystery.

“I’m not really sure if we can ever answer that question,” Weintraub said.

One of the guns used in the slayings, a Smith and Wesson .357 handgun, was registered to DiNardo’s mother, Sandra.

DiNardo was not allowed to possess a weapon, since he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he was charged in February with being in possession of a shotgun that he had fired.

Asked if DiNardo’s mother committed a crime by allowing her son to obtain the gun, Weintraub said “a person does not have an affirmative obligation to prevent somebody from getting it.”

“If they get it, that’s on them, if they’re not permitted to have it,” he said.

At this time, Weintraub said he is “satisfied” with the arrests of DiNardo and Kratz.

“Of course, if there is more information out there that would suggest … that other people were involved, we’re still open to consider that,” the district attorney said. “But I’m not saying that’s the case.”

Leaving the Bucks County Courthouse on Thursday after confessing to the killings, DiNardo, who wore an orange jumpsuit, said, “I’m sorry,” when questioned by reporters.

“I’d like to think that he wanted to help us get these boys home,” Weintraub said of DiNardo’s confession.

Weintraub would not say what initially tipped authorities off to the DiNardo family’s sprawling farm on Lower York Road and another property owned by the family on the 2800 block of Aquetong Road, where Meo’s car was recovered.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that a person with firsthand knowledge of DiNardo’s confession said the men were killed after DiNardo felt cheated or threatened during three drug transactions. DiNardo sold quarter-pound quantities of marijuana for several thousand dollars and sold handguns to area residents, the person said.

“Every death was related to a purported drug transaction, and at the end of each one there’s a killing,” the person said.

DiNardo was charged with four counts of criminal homicide, 11 counts of conspiracy, three counts of robbery, four counts of abusing of a corpse, possession of a weapon and possession of an instrument of crime with intent.

Kratz was charged with three counts of criminal homicide, nine counts of conspiracy, three counts of robbery, three counts of abuse of a corpse, possession of a weapon and possession of an instrument of crime with intent.

Kratz, the alleged co-conspirator in the killings of three of the men at a Solebury farm, has a lengthy rap sheet.

He was out on bail for two active burglary cases in Philadelphia when the killings occurred.

On June 20, 2016, Kratz was charged with burglary, conspiracy criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and two counts of criminal mischief.

The charges stem from a June 8, 2016 break-in in Philadelphia.

While out on nonmonetary bail, Kratz was implicated in another burglary six months later.

He was arrested in February and charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. That alleged offense took place Dec. 16, also in Philadelphia. Bail was initially set at 10 percent of $35,000 on Feb. 12, court records show. However, a judge reduced that amount to 10 percent of $10,000 on Feb. 28.

Kratz then posted the required $1,000 to set himself free.

Just on Thursday, Kratz’s attorney made a request for continuance in that case because the public defender was “not ready,” court records indicate. Kratz was present in the courtroom. The next court date is scheduled for Aug. 4.

In his other burglary case, the defense made a request for continuance due to Kratz’s “medical issues” on May 17. He was unavailable for the appearance, court records show.

In between his alleged burglaries, Kratz apparently continued a pattern of theft.

Then 19 and living on Susquehanna Road in Ambler, he was arrested and charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime and possession of a controlled substance on Dec. 9 at Macy’s in the Willow Grove Park Mall.

He pleaded guilty on June 27 to the disorderly conduct and retail theft charges, court records show.

The massive search for the missing men kicked off on Sunday night with police swarming the DiNardo family’s Aquetong Road property.

Weintraub said he felt sadness and relief.

“I feel so proud of my team and I feel resolve because although we’ve sped through this week and we’ve accomplished so much, we have so much more to do to bring justice in this case,” the district attorney said. “I’m very relieved to say that we brought four young men one step closer to their loved ones so that they can rest in peace.”